Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis Leave Local Color Early, Disappointing Thousands of Fans

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis this afternoon made about a dozen frappuccinos at Local Color in Pike Place Market, but the stunt may have cost them a portion of their Seattle fan base.

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"I'm angry with them, and I'm not seeing the movie,"said Kaitlin Dalton, 19, one of more than 5000 hopefuls who queued outside the coffee shop hours in advance of the advertised 45-minute appearance.

The actors abandoned their post after 20 minutes: According to owner Frank Albanese, the few customers admitted to the shop during the promotional shift were invitees and media members.

"It was just a demonstration for the press," Albanese said. "Some of the people from the very early morning may have gotten in, but quite honestly, it was mostly press."

"We have some very angry people," he continued, motioning at the crowd which refused to disperse almost 30 minutes after Ferrell and Galifianakis left the building. "I think there are some people who won't be seeing the movie."

Ferrell, nattily dressed in a sport jacket, and Galifianakis, wearing more typical barista attire, took their spots behind the counter at exactly 1:45 p.m. Although the cafe usually gets by without air conditioning, loitering fans raised the room's temperature, so both actors requested cold drinks (mocha frappuccino for Ferrell, orange creamsicle frappucino for Galifianakis.) The plan was for them to turn orders over to staffers, but both men insisted on getting into character by helping to make chai lattes and almond mochas.

There wasn't much time for schtick, although Galifianakis got a few laughs by shouting very, very loudly - "TWO ICED AMERICANOS!" - and Ferrell bumbled with purple espresso cups in George W. Bushian fashion. Customers tried harder for comedy: The first person in line presented a gallon-sized cup to Ferrell for a filling. Since it was impossible to hear anything in the noisy cafe, it's unknown whether he asked for more cow's milk.

"Moving on, moving on," Galifianakis told a customer who hung around after getting her to-go cup signed. "I'm not real good with the public."

Two young female staffers from Beecher's Handmade Cheese, which shares a back corridor with Local Color, showed up during the promotion to present an eight-pound wedge of Flagship Cheese, but security guards refused the gift.

"It's a little crazy right now," a guard said.

After the actors bolted, frustrated fans traded speculation that a crisis in the crowd provoked the early exit. But a team of Pike Place Market security officers confirmed "it was cool" out on the street. One woman reportedly collapsed, but an officer attributed her condition to over-excitement.

Dalton's 22-year old brother Jordan said he drove up from Portland to meet the actors. "When the two most amazing people are here, why wouldn't you?," he said. "I'm literally their biggest fan."

Jordan Dalton packed a tent with plans of camping outside the coffee shop, but his ambitions were undermined by "alcohol." He still scored a place near the front of the line by arriving four hours before showtime.

"I got here at 9:30 a.m., and there were people in line," said former employee Rebecca Koehler, who was tasked with answering the phone and warning would-be patrons that they might want to hold off on coming by for coffee.

Koehler was stunned by the line, since - as I discovered at 1 p.m. - there was nothing to stop people from walking into the shop.

"They're well-behaved," she said.

Albanese said the publicity team for The Campaign, which opens Aug. 10, visited a number of Seattle cafes before selecting Local Color. The eight-year old shop is very popular with market vendors, artists and cruise passengers, but Albanese is counting on the publicity surrounding the promotion to draw more local residents.

"We got more press than we will in a lifetime," he said.

In exchange, though, Albanese had to effectively shut down the shop: Ferrell and Galifianakis didn't charge for the drinks they made.

"We haven't sold anything for three hours," he said while shooing away Ferrell fans.